Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe

Transformed into Cosmic Horror in a Sci-Fi Universe

EP.89 The One Blessed by God

Envy aside, I’ve managed to get on Erin’s good side, which should improve my chances of securing a better future.

Surely, being friends with the heroine means I won’t be callously thrown into the cold, harsh society.

If possible, I’d like to get closer to other characters too, like the senior student who’s another heroine, or the teacher who’s friendly with the protagonist.

But as a public slave, it’s difficult to even get near them.

As I was living each day, trying my best to become friends with Erin, one day…

[ At 17 years old, your latent potential awakens. ]

[ One Blessed by God ]

[ All skill proficiency growth tripled ]

[ Abilities ]

[ Strength: 10 ] [ Agility: 10 ]

[ Stamina: 10 ] [ Magic: 10 ]

“…?!”

As I lay down to sleep after finishing my daily tasks, suddenly game-like notification windows appeared before my eyes.

W-what?

What’s going on all of a sudden?

I was greatly surprised by this sudden event, but I couldn’t make a loud noise since other slaves were sleeping around me and the guard was watching.

Thanks to that, I was able to calm down quickly and carefully assess the current situation.

So, it’s past midnight, my 17th birthday, and at this point, I’ve awakened some kind of special ability?

One Blessed by God, huh…

Ability and skill proficiency growth tripled?n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But wait, what’s with these sudden abilities and skills?

Was this a world with status windows and such?

No, it wasn’t.

I read the entire story to its conclusion, and nothing like this existed.

Then what is this?

A hallucination? Or someone’s magic?

Or maybe… a special privilege granted to me, the one who’s possessed this body?

Right, let’s think positively.

I’m a slave anyway.

Until the protagonist liberates me, I’m destined to stay here and just keep working.

Even if I escape that fate, what awaits me is just the bitter taste of this cold fantasy society.

Things can’t get much worse than this.

At worst, I might die a bit earlier.

So I decided to think of it in a good way.

This is a special privilege granted by God to me, the one who’s possessed this body.

Perhaps it’s been given in the form of a status window, suitable for me as a modern person.

It’s certainly easy to see and nice.

If that’s the case, I need to check it out in more detail.

Even if the abilities are as they appear, I felt I needed to observe the effects of that passive skill, “One Blessed by God,” more closely.

“Hey you! What are you doing not sleeping?”

“I’m sorry.”

Just then, the guard suddenly yelled at me.

For now, since there’s no way to check, let’s just go to sleep.

I have plenty of time anyway.

Let’s check it out slowly.

#

The next day, I immediately understood the ability of the passive skill while working.

[ You have achieved a certain level of proficiency and acquired a skill. ]

[ Pickaxe (Level 1) ]

[ Increases proficiency in handling pickaxes. Increases pickaxe attack power. ]

While preparing the ground for developing a training area, I instantly acquired a skill.

I hadn’t even been using the pickaxe for a few hours before the skill appeared, and I could immediately see its effectiveness.

Clang! Kang! Kang!

“Oh, Number 15. The sound is quite different today, isn’t it?”

The sound of the pickaxe striking was different with and without the skill.

My posture seemed more comfortable, and I felt like I was using less stamina.

Ooh… So this is what a skill is!

It’s a bit sad that the first skill I got after getting a status window is pickaxe wielding, but usually, once you acquire something like this, it’ll come in handy someday. ř

You never know.

Maybe someday I’ll end up working in a mine.

Clang! Kang!

As I was excitedly breaking rocks on the ground with my pickaxe, having just acquired the skill.

Ding!

[ Proficiency increases 3 times due to the effect of One Blessed by God. ]

[ You have achieved a certain level of proficiency and your skill level has increased. ]

[ Pickaxe (Level 2) ]

[ Increases proficiency in handling pickaxes. Increases pickaxe attack power. ]

[ As a bonus for skill level increase, Strength increases by 1. ]

[ The stat increase is tripled due to the effect of One Blessed by God. ]

[ Abilities ]

[ Strength: 13 ] [ Agility: 10 ]

[ Stamina: 10 ] [ Magic: 10 ]

Whoa~!

This proficiency increase is insane.

And a stat bonus on top of that!

Thanks to the One Blessed by God effect, my Strength increased by a whopping 3.

Flex!

For some reason, I feel like my muscles are tensing up?

Clang! Kang! Kang!

Of course, that wasn’t just my imagination.

The force of my strikes was clearly much stronger than before my Strength increased.

The rocks broke much more easily than before, and the muscle strain I felt when swinging was noticeably reduced.

Wow… This is fun!

“Number 15. That’s enough. Thanks to you, we can finish today’s work quickly.”

“Ah, yes.”

I was so excited and working so hard that the supervisor came to stop me.

What, it’s over already?

Ah, if I could just do a little more, I think I could reach Pickaxe Wielding level 3.

As I made a disappointed expression, the supervisor started looking at me like I was some kind of weirdo.

Well, I guess even for a slave, someone who enjoys unpaid labor this much would look crazy.

Having finished the morning’s work by about 10 o’clock, the ground preparation team was able to take a long break for the first time in a while.

“Haha, thanks to Number 15, we get to rest properly for once.”

“Here, have some water.”

“Ah, thank you.”

Since the work finished quickly thanks to me, the other slave workers were very happy and praised me.

Hehe, this doesn’t feel too bad either.

As I was resting like that, suddenly the supervisor approached me with a hesitant expression.

“Number 15. Can I see you for a moment?”

“Yes?”

Suddenly asking to see me separately?

Could it be that I did such a good job that they want to give me some kind of bonus?

Thinking that, I followed him, but what I heard was like a bolt from the blue.

“Well, the general manager saw you earlier. There’s talk of moving you to the mining team.”

“What?!”

What kind of crazy talk is this?

The mining team?

If I go there, won’t I be far away from the academy?!

No! That can’t happen.

If that happens, I’ll be separated from the protagonist’s group, and naturally, my liberation will be delayed, and my future life will become uncertain!

I may have gotten good at using a pickaxe, but if I go there, I’ll obviously end up spending the rest of my life as an otherworld miner uncle.

That can’t happen.

Now that things have come to this, shouldn’t I stick close to the protagonist’s group, learn magic and swordsmanship, become an awesome powerhouse, and fully enjoy this fantasy world?

“That, that can’t happen! I like it here!”

It seems this supervisor doesn’t want to send me, a good worker, to another team either, so I need to show my firm resolve.

“I absolutely want to work here, under you, supervisor…!”

“Y-You…! Alright, I’ll talk to the higher-ups. You’ll stay at the academy!”

Great, what a relief!

As I was thinking that.

“Why? Even though the work in the mining team is harder, if you’re lucky, you might be formally hired by the mining team and escape your slave status.”

Someone approached me with a puzzled tone.

“Huh?! V-Vice Principal?!”

The person who spoke to me was none other than the second most powerful and capable person in this academy after the principal.

It was Vice Principal Erna.

With skin so fair and smooth that it belied her 40 years, and beauty so breathtaking it could stop your heart.

When I had only read the novel’s description, I didn’t realize, but she truly boasted such incredible beauty that I momentarily forgot to breathe.

Wow, she’s 40?

Totally doable.

That thought came to me involuntarily.

Ah, that’s not the issue here.

She asked why I’m not going to the mine, right?

As she said, the miners will accept even those of slave origin as their team members if they have good skills.

Due to the nature of the mining profession, which is extremely demanding, tough, and severely understaffed, even the state acknowledges this and sometimes grants freedom to slaves on the condition that they never leave the mining profession, if there’s a petition from the mining team.

In other words, it means you can escape your slave status, albeit in a limited way.

It means you can proudly hold the profession of a miner and receive all the rights of an ordinary citizen.

That’s why going to the mining team was like a life goal for other slaves.

That’s probably why the supervisor earlier was so moved when I said I didn’t want to go.

Ah, but what should I say?

I can’t tell the truth that I’m not going because there’s a possibility that the protagonist will soon free me and help me rebuild my life.

“…I enjoy watching the students at this academy. Unlike me, they have outstanding talents and potential, living with bright futures ahead of them. Just watching them makes me happy. I want to continue observing them here.”

Oh shit…

I made something up for now, but it really sounds strange.

What am I talking about watching them? I’m just a slave.

“Hmm…”

But it seems to have pleased the Vice Principal, as she nodded with a slight smile before leaving.

“Hehe, interesting. I’ll see you around.”

“…?”

She left with those somewhat meaningful words.